A runner that that doesn't drag on endlessly

Part of the trouble with endless runners is that, well, they do tend to go on a bit. It's all part of being 'endless,' of course, but it's also the accompanying randomised level design.

That's fine if the game has been polished to within an inch of its life, with super-tactile controls and a neat twist on this over-familiar formula.

But very few runners these days manage to meet those criteria. Glitch Dash succeeds because it doesn't just tick the 'not endless' and 'not random' boxes, but it also goes and ticks the rest for good measure.

Keep on running

The set-up is a familiar one - a first-person abstract runner whereby you must swipe left, right, up and down to dodge oncoming obstacles.

But rather than keep on going until you inevitably die, Glitch Dash gives you clearly defined, hand-made levels that can be beaten in a few minutes.

That's not to say that this is an easy game mind you - those hand-crafted levels have been designed to twist your fingers in knots.

But the fact that your run will be the same on successive tries enables you to learn from your mistakes and gradually make progress.

Running beautifully

It also helps that Glitch Dash is technically so very impressive. Not only does every object have a sense of solidness, every surface a sheen, and every UI element a jaunty angle, but the game also moves at a super smooth lick.

It's all accompanied by an upbeat set of crystalline techno tunes that seem to chime along in time with the action. This isn't a rhythm action game, but the audio undoubtedly helps your progress if you can zone out to it.

Glitch Dash isn't a perfect runner, though. In its initial freemium build, the frequency and length of ad videos is rather annoying and serves to break your flow. Meanwhile the IAP to remove all of this is a rather pricey (by genre standards) £9.99/$9.99.

But then, this isn't your average runner. Glitch Dash's finely wrought hand-crafted levels and the sheer slickness of its moment-to-moment action lift it comfortably beyond most other me-too examples of the genre.